Nico's first love
by yanlikesgold
Summary: When The hunters 'visit' Camp Half-blood by an order of Artemis, Thalia finds herself falling for Nico when she meets him again. Then, the gods decide to send them on a test to test their love for each other.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! I'm pretty new here and this is my first time posting a story here. All constructive criticism is welcome and pardon me for my limited range of vocabulary because you'll see the same few words repeating again and again. By the way this story is set 4 years after the Last Olympian (just if you're wondering, and it means like about 2 years after the Heroes of Olympus). Anyways, just enjoy! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do really wish to own the Percy Jackson series and all the characters in it, but sadly I don't. :(**

**Love… and Thalia**

**Prologue**

**Olympus**

"I'm bored, I'm really, really bored," Aphrodite complained. "There haven't been any nice stories. No heartbreaking ones, not even one fuzzy story! How about…" she said as she eyed Artemis. Artemis gave her a _don't-you-dare _stare at her and said, "You do not think of matching my huntresses or me with any hero. You do not make them fall in love with any hero. If you ever dare to touch any of my huntresses, I will throw your eternal makeup kit into the depths of Tartarus. And curse you. And if possible, turn you into a jackalope." "Ohh, I'm so scared!" Aphrodite said mockingly. Then she thought, and DING! An idea popped into her mind. Artemis's words gave her an idea. "Thanks, Artemis, I've got an idea!" "Huh? What idea?" Artemis called out behind her, bewildered

**Chapter 1: The hunters's visit**

**Camp Half-blood**

**Thalia's POV**

It has been a long while since she was back. "When was the last time I came back?" She thought absent-mindedly. "Thalia!" someone shouted from behind. She turned around, finding Annabeth standing behind her. 'Oh gods! I've missed you so much!" Thalia said as she gave Annabeth a hug. "C'mon, I'll give you a tour of the new camp!" Annabeth said. "Sure, gimmie a moment," Thalia said as she instructed the other hunters to move their baggage to the Artemis cabin. Then, she and Annabeth left, chatting excitedly on what they had done and were going to do. "Um, Annabeth," someone said as she tapped on Annabeth's shoulder. "Something cropped up in the cabin, could you follow me back there…" Her words were cut of by Annabeth. "I got it," Annabeth grumbled, "but just give me a minute or two.'

They took a little walk before reaching a black cabin with a skull on top of the door and two torches burning with green fire. "Nico, are you in there?" They waited, and waited, and waited. "If death boy is not coming out, I am going to bang—" "Yes?" a sleepy Nico Di Angelo opened the door. Thalia stood there with her mouth agape. Thoughts raced through her mind. "Holy Zeus, he's so cute! And his skin had paled much! When was the last time I saw him? Wait, what's gotten into me? But…" Her thoughts were interrupted by Annabeth's shrill voice. "Nico Di Angelo, why are you still sleeping at this hour? I need you to help give Thalia a tour so wash up and change." "Who cares," he grumbled. This guy was moody and emo as always, Thalia thought. "Annabeth! Why aren't you here yet?" the same girl said. "Gotta go!" Annabeth said as she and her cabin mate left. "Uh, sure. Me giving a tour to pine cone face. Great. You can come in for all you like but don't scream if you get creeped out," Nico said as he went back into his cabin. Thalia was still there, staring at Nico. "Are you coming in or not?" Nico asked, "I don't want to be punished by your daddy for mistreating his dear daughter." Thalia told herself to snap out of it and followed Nico into the cabin.

**Nico's POV**

Once Thalia went in, he slammed the door shut and went to get his clothes. Thalia wandered around the cabin, looking at some stuff. He went into the bathroom, washed up and dressed. "Pine cone face, let's go!" Nico called out. No one answered. He looked around, only to find Thalia Grace sleeping on a black leather couch. She was curled up into a ball, and amazingly, Nico found himself staring at her. "Well… she looks pretty damn cute like that. And much peaceful too. Whoa, what am I doing? Thinking how cute she is? Oh never mind," Nico mumbled to himself as he grabbed his sword and went out, leaving sleeping Thalia in the cabin.

**Annabeth's POV**

Annabeth had just solved the problem and had decided to visit Percy when… She saw Nico swinging his sword and walking towards the arena. "Nico?!" Annabeth jogged towards him and asked, "Where's Thalia and why aren't you giving her a tour?" "Someone fell asleep in my cabin and left me nothing to do," he replied. "I don't care! You're going back now! And I mean it! Or suffer my wrath." Annabeth ordered. "So now, go back to your cabin and wake her up. I want to see you giving her a tour when I'm out of the Poseidon cabin. Get it?" and stomped off towards Percy's cabin.

**I know, I know. It's pretty lame right? Well I'm not that great like Shakespeare and all but yeah, I'll try my best to improve… Heh. And for now please just review? Pretty please… Thx :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**OMGOMGOMG! I can't believe I got reviews! Thx so much ppl! I just realized most of my jokes were pretty sarcastic cos' I'm a sarcastic person. But anyways, here comes the chapter two. As usual, all con crit is welcome and don't forget to review! ;)**

**Disclaimer: One day I will own the PJO and the HOO series. But for now it belongs to Uncle Rick. :(**

**Chapter 2: Sweet dreams**

**Nico's POV**

In the end, Nico HAD to give Thalia a tour, no matter what. He reluctantly went back to the cabin and went to wake Thalia up.

"Wake up Thalia Grace! Or I'm going to kick you in your face!" Nico (half) threatened. He sat down on the floor, next to the armchair and tapped her lightly. "Thalia, wake up! Hey! Pinecone face! The dead is after you!"

"Well you could always chase them away right? Don't wake me up, I'm really tired," Thalia murmured seductively (for some reason Nico thought it sounded pretty seductive; maybe because she was half asleep).

"Uh…Sure," he seemed momentarily lost for words. "What's going on now? What the heck is going on?" Nico thought. "Okay Nico, calm down. Think the possibilities. One, I have a freaking crush on Thalia due to blasted puberty. Two, I just care for her as a brother." He concentrated more, and came to a conclusion. "Yeah, pretty much like that. Maybe I should cancel out the second part." He smiled and stroked Thalia's face gently, his brown eyes paying attention to every little detail. From the way she breathes to the oval face with features that looked so perfect. "She looks really gorgeous. Why haven't I realised this before?" he muttered to himself. He suddenly felt his eyelids getting heavy. Watching Thalia sleep made him sleepy too. He closed his eyes and dream fest began.

He was eleven again. Back to the time when he had just run away from Camp Half- blood and was alone in the woods. Cold and lonely. The wolves howled at the moon signaling to their pack. "At least they've got company," he sighed as he slumps against a familiar looking pine tree. Suddenly, the tree behind him turned into a girl. Thalia. Before he could respond, they were rolling down the hill, their arms around each other. It seemed a long while before they stopped. The girl was right on top of him, her arms around his neck. "Thalia, is that you?" Nico asked, confused. "Who were you expecting then?" she smiled sweetly and pressed her lips towards Nico's softly and gently. As usual, his dream shifted. He was on an island and there was a fuzzy image of a girl. "Are you alright?" the girl asked. He woke up, his head hurting. Slowly, things came into focus but only the girl's features remained blurry. She wore what seemed to be a draped dress. She had blonde curls that hung attractively over her shoulders. Then his dream was abruptly interrupted by someone, "Zeus is here!" He woke up with a start and

**I know this is like, much shorter than the 1****st**** chapter cos' this is supposed to be a bridging between chap 1 and 3. But I'll make it up for chap 3! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Aphrodite's little plan**

**The next day…**

**Thalia's POV**

Thalia rubbed her eyes. No warm glow. No sunlight. So not Artemis's cabin. "Whoa, unless I'm in… THE HADES CABIN!" She sat up and saw Nico sitting next to the armchair, sleeping. "How long have I been in here?" she wondered. She took a look at the watch and realised it was already 8a.m. in the morning. I haven't had a bath since the day before and I stink. And I do believe I do need a new set of clothes. Annabeth should be awake at this time," Thalia thought as she pulled out a drachma. She took out a spray bottle from her bag and tried to create a rainbow. "O goddess, accept my offering," Thalia said as she threw her coin into the mist, "Camp Half-blood, Annabeth Chase." A picture of Annabeth slowly formed. "Annabeth!" Thalia called out.

"Thalia!"

"I need help."

"What help?"

"Erm… Well, I spent a night in the Hades's cabin and I need a fresh change of clothes."

"Hades cabin? Didn't Nico give you a tour or bring you back to Artemis's cabin? I must confront him later. Oh well, never mind… I'll send it through Hermes Express to you."

"Sure. Thanks so much! Oh yes, don't tell anyone."

"I know."

"If they ask you, just cook up an intelligent answer, wise girl."

"Got it, Thal. Bye!"

With that, Annabeth cut her hand through the mist and the conversation ended.

**Olympus**

Aphrodite was sitting in a couch, sipping coffee while watching the love story unfold. "Perfect. Maybe I should add a little spice to it." She stood up and walked towards the box of clothes and waved her hand over it. "That should do the trick," she grinned as she sent the box on its way.

After minutes of waiting, a package plopped onto the chair. "Oh great! My fresh clothes!" Thalia exclaimed. She unwrapped the parcel, and instead of finding the usual slivery-white huntress clothes, but clothes in a colour that punks hate most: PINK. And not only was it pink. It was a revealing pink halter top and a pink mini skirt. "Aphrodite, curse you!" Thalia muttered under her breath. No way was she going to wear that. But well, she didn't have a choice unless she wanted to wear what she wore yesterday (which pretty much stinks because she didn't take a bath). "Fine," she grumbled as went to the bathroom and began putting on the skimpy outfit. It was pretty awkward with a guy in the room, and that guy was Nico. After she got out of the bathroom, she felt like she had just had a make over by Aphrodite personally. And it felt HORRIBLE. But Thalia always had a plan, though. But Nico had to wake up. She knew how well this guy could sleep. To make sure Nico wakes up, she sat next to Nico and shouted, "Zeus is here!" (Half for the fun of it and to see his reaction). Nico seemed like he had been electrocuted by Zeus's master bolt and got up faster than you could say "Mississippi". Smack! He (duh) smacked into something. Not really something, but Thalia. He kissed Thalia. Lip to lip. One small part of Thalia told her it was okay, but the rest went: "get away from him! He's a boy! He's Nico!" They held that position for seconds before they pulled away from each other. "Get away from me!" they shouted in unison.

**Nico's POV**

"What do you think you're doing on my bed… What?! What are you trying to do in those clothes?" Nico screamed, getting away from Thalia like she was some sort of monster Aphrodite sent him. "Erm…" Thalia said as she looked at her clothes. "Well, that's a long story. But first, I have a request. Maybe two."

"Okay… What's your request then?"

"Could you lend me a set of clothes?"

"Um…"

"Could you lend me a set of clothes?" Thalia said again, meekly. "Oh," Nico said as he pointed towards a cabinet made of mahogany wood. "Help yourself."

It was pretty shocking. Early in the morning (Nico normally wakes up in the afternoon), Thalia had woken him up with an unintended 'morning kiss' in a pink skimpy outfit, and then asked if she could borrow his clothes. Nico was still pretty dazed and wondered if this was a dream. But, it seemed so real. He sat there dazed, staring at Thalia. He could still feel the phantom touch of Thalia's lips on his, but he told himself to stop thinking about her. "I can't think of her! She's a hunter! Artemis will come after me and turn me into a jackalope!" Nico thought. Thalia seemed to find the clothes of her choice (anyway they both wear black) and went into the bathroom to change again.

Thalia came out of the bathroom in Nico's clothes, and the skimpy clothes on one hand. A lightning bolt shot of her hand and burnt the clothes. The remains of the clothes scattered onto the ground. Then she went up to Nico.

"Well," she said, twirling her hair, "I could use your help again."

Nico scowled.

**Yippie! I'm done with my 3****rd**** chap. It's easier to plan than to write. And of course it is easier to read than write. So please review! (But if you're shy it's okay if you don't want to review. I'm like that.)**


	4. Chapter 4

**I have a creative streak and I can't stop writing. But sometimes I'll post only once a week due to time constrains, well, occasionally once two weeks. I'll try my best to update and anyways, here comes chap 4! Relax and read. J**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or the PJO/HOO books. Uncle Rick aka the Troll does. His name is printed on the cover of every book he writes.**

**Chapter 4: The start of 'it' (You'll know what the '****_it_****' is in Chapter 5)**

**Nico's POV**

"So what's the request?"

"Well, since you can shadow travel, can you just like shadow travel me back to the Artemis cabin?"

"And risk getting caught by them?" Nico rebutted. "I'm not going to help you. It's either you go back yourself or you wait till night and sneak back."

"Fine, I'll go back myself. You heartless, cold-blooded son of Hades. You and your father are the same. Like father like son. SELFISH!" Thalia flicked her head and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"What did I do now?" Nico wondered as he followed Thalia out.

**Thalia's POV**

"Stupid, selfish Nico!" Thalia cursed under her breath. Tears were streaming down her face and she was angry at Nico but she did not know why. Neither did she know why she was crying. "Stop crying, Thal. Calm yourself down. It's not worthwhile to cry over him. And I don't love him. I don't…"

**Meanwhile…**

**The Stolls's POV**

Travis and Connor Stoll, as usual, woke up early to 'raid' the camp store or play a trick. But this morning, they had something else to do when they saw an angry Thalia stomp out of the Hades cabin, wiping her tears away. "Travis, isn't that Thalia?"

"That IS Thalia! And she's wearing Nico's clothes!"

"Holy Hermes, what happened?"

"What else do you think could have happened?"

They grinned slyly and ran back to the Hermes cabin.

**THIS is another bridging between chaps. Not really a chapter though. But when there's something like this, I'll try to publish 2 chaps together. And as usual, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here comes chap 5! I believe most of you ppl have gotten what is going to happen in this chapter. That is good cos' I believe there may be more stuff like that in the following chapters. For you who haven't got it, here's the answer! And there's some coarse language although I normally try to keep them to the minimum. Now R&R.**

**Chapter 5: Rumor has it**

**Stoll brothers' POV**

Back in the Hermes cabin, the Stolls woke up everyone in their cabin to tell them the juicy gossip. "Everyone listen up! I've got news! A juicy one!" At the mention of the word 'juicy', they all scrambled out of their beds and went over to the Stolls brothers' bunk. "What have you got this time?" one of the campers asked.

"It's about the hunter, Thalia." Travis said.

"Oh… What about her?"

"We saw her coming out of the Hades cabin, wearing Nico's clothes, running out of the cabin, crying."

"Oh my!" someone cried out, "that's…that's… I must tell the Aphrodite girls!"

"Me too! I must tell this to the Athena cabin!"

Soon, everyone was out of the cabin, off to spread the news. "Good one, huh?" Travis asked. "Nice one. Gimmie a Hi-five!" They hi-fived each other and chuckled as they strolled out of the door, ready to spread it to those hunters. "Their reaction must be ridiculous!" "Definitely, I'll bet my hat on it!" Connor said, mimicking Effie trinket from the Hunger Games. The Stolls roared with laughter and made their way to the Artemis cabin.

**Thalia's POV**

When she entered the cabin many of the hunters were gawking at her. "Tha… Thalia, you… you're wearing…" Phoebe said, bewildered. Thalia couldn't be bothered. She walked towards her bunk and covered herself with her blanket. She cried her heart out. She felt like she had been betrayed by Nico. She felt like her heart had shattered into a thousand pieces. She hardly met Nico, much less talk. She couldn't understand why she felt like that. "Thalia, what happened?" one of the hunters asked gently, trying to coax her into telling them what had happened. But she didn't need to explain anymore. The answer arrived at their doorstep. Nico barged in and walked towards Thalia. He sat down on the bunk and said, "Thalia, I'm…I'm sor…sorry."

"Too late, Death boy."

The hunters were gasping and murmuring within themselves. And to add to the trouble, the Stolls entered the room. "Hey hunters," Travis Stoll said like he was hosting a reality show. "I have some real news for you. Thalia and Nico are in a relationship!" "What?!" one hunter shrieked. "Call Lady Artemis here now!" another said. The whole Artemis cabin went into frenzy. The Stolls snickered and ran out of the cabin. No one seemed to bother about Thalia and Nico, who were huddled in a corner, Thalia in Nico's arms.

**Annabeth's POV**

"What did you just say?" Annabeth said when she heard the news. Her face was a mixture of emotions. She went out of the Athena cabin, and sprinted towards the Hades cabin, ready to confront Nico. "Nico Di Angelo! Son of Hades! Get your f***king ass out of your cabin! Now!" She then kicked open the door, but she found the cabin empty. She searched high and low, but he was no where to be found. "F***! Di Angelo's not in here!" Annabeth cursed as she went out of the cabin.

**Thalia's POV**

"Thalia, sorry, I should have just, just shadow traveled you here..."Nico started. She didn't reply. She just pouted her lips, stating that she wasn't satisfied with the apology. "Okay, fine. What do I have to do then?"

"Kiss me."

"Here, with the hunters watching?"

"I don't care. Anyway there're too busy with trying to decide who is going to call Lady Artemis here."

"Well..."

"No kiss means you're not sincere." Thalia whined like a little kid.

"Alright then. Scoot over closer."

With her lips slightly parted, they pressed their lips against each other. The kiss engulfed her and she could feel it gaining in strength until she found herself wrapped up in him, body, heart and soul. It was a kiss that made her yearn and crave for another. When they pulled away from the kiss. I gazed into his deep, brown eyes and uttered one word to him "mine"."And you're mine too," Nico said cheekily and gave her a peck on the nose. Nico smiled. Thalia had never seen him smile before. She snuggled against his shoulder, drinking in the fact that he is here for her and he would always be. "Mine. He'll always be mine," Thalia thought.

**Yes, yes. I know. Thalia and Annabeth are like sooooo OOC(Out of character). But that's what I need. Furthermore, Annabeth is like so 'protective' over Thalia and Thalia just calmed down and her little Italian 'boyfriend's' beside her and she can't resist the temptation to kiss him again(since the accidental kiss). Review pls!:)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey ppl, I'm have to admit my creative juices are really flowing and yes, I can't stop writing. Thx to whoever who reviewed and liked and read and stuffs cos' that's what keeps me going, too. And so I present you Chapter 6. I promise it's gonna be quite interesting cos' Artemis will be in it too! R&R ppl.**

**Chapter 6: Nico and Jackalopes**

**Thalia's POV**

It was in the late afternoon when she was woken up rudely by someone. "Thalia, wake up!"

"Nico, let me get some sleep, I'm really tired."

"No, Thalia. It's me, Phoebe!"

"Phoebe?" Thalia asked as she stretched lazily and rubbed her eyes. Nico wasn't there. Was just now a dream? Then, Phoebe continued,"Lady Artemis wants too meet you." "Oh..." Thalia knew what was going to happen. The only and the worst case is that Nico WILL be turned into a jackalope. No matter what. She trudged behind Phoebe, dreading to meet Artemis. She really wish Kronos, or Luke was here so he could stop time. She followed Phoebe into the wood where there was a sliver tent pitched in the middle of a clearing. "Lady Artemis, Thalia is here. "Thalia, come in." She entered the tent nervously. Nico was already there. "Nico!" Thalia exclaimed and ran towards him. But then, she realized Lady Artemis was watching them and so abruptly stopped in her tracks."Thalia Grace. As lieutenant, you should set a example for all the other hunters. Instead, you broke the pledge and fell in love with Nico. I will have to turn him into a jackalope as a result of your actions."

Thalia kneeled down and begged, "No, Lady Artemis, I know I'm in the wrong! It has nothing to do with him! Please, let him go!"

Instead of pardoning Nico, she said sternly,"with your sentence I am now sure you do have feelings for Nico Di Angelo. And so he WILL have to be turned into a jackalope." Artemis muttered something and Nico glowed, slowly turning into a jackalope. "No!" Thalia shrieked. She could only watch. She couldn't do anything. She had never felt so useless. "No... Nico..." She muttered. "Why? Why must you do this to me!" She screamed and broke down, her tears flowing down her cheeks like a waterfall, her eyes puffy and red. Artemis just shook her head and sighed. "Another masterpiece by Aphrodite..."

***Reads work and nods head* This is the only one so far that I'm pretty satisfied with and I kinda love the crying part. I'm going all out to make Thalia OOC cos she's madly in love with Nico. I could really put myself into her shoes. And so,you know, pls review. And I just realized I/you could PM me/you, so yeah you can. :) **


	7. Chapter 7

**It's now like 2am in the morning (Singapore time) and I still can't sleep. Maybe I'm too excited about this. And so here comes Chapter 7. R&R ppl.**

**Chapter 7: The 'Exchange' program.**

**Olympus**

"Ah... The two little lovebirds... Or should I call them star-crossed lovers? Are separated. And I shall do nothing but watch. I will see that the power of love shall withstand this test..." Aphrodite muttered as she continued watching the little story unfold.

**Thalia's POV**

Thalia had sat in her bunk for hours, crying. Annabeth and Percy had come to visit her, but she had refused to meet them. Suddenly, a unexpected visitor came. And well, she was pretty much uninvited too.

The kindly one.

What is she doing here?

"Thalia Grace,' the kindly one spoke in her raspy voice. "My lord wants to meet you."

"Ha...Hades?"

"Names have power, Thalia Grace. You shall call him the lord of the dead and nothing else. Now come with me, daughter of Zeus."

Before Thalia could react, the fury grabbed her with it's talons and headed for the land of the dead.

**The Underworld**

Thalia had pretty much fainted from shock and when she regained consciousness, she found herself face-to-face to the lord of the dead. 'Well, the little princess finally wakes up. And why did Artemis turn MY SON into a jackalope?" he roared. "I want to strike a deal with you. Not really a deal though, because you must accept it no matter what!" Terror held Thalia like a vice-like grip. "Under that calm demeanor, what exactly is that madman planning to do with me?" Thalia thought. Her palms were clammy with perspiration and she tried not to let her fear show. Then the dreaded words came out of Hades mouth:"I will have to 'keep' you until Artemis gives me back my son. if she refuses to, I will make sure you die a painful and torturous death, one that all the Olympians will remember." He waved his hands and walls appeared around her. "If I do not get my son back in two weeks time, THIS, will be your final resting place." With another flash, he was gone.

Right now, Thalia was crying again. She had blamed herself for everything. From making Nico fall in love with her, to turning Nico into a jackalope. Everything was wrong right from the start. Why hadn't she realized it?

**Olympus, Summer Solstice. **Right now a three-way slugfest was going on. With Artemis and Zeus angry at Hades for taking Thalia away, and Hades was angry at Artemis for turning Nico into a jackalope, and Zeus was furious at Artemis because she had failed to take good care of Thalia. And Zeus, Hades and Artemis were all angry at Aphrodite. The gods were now all taking sides, arguing about who is right when Athena spoke up. "Everyone, listen. We should not quarrel. Instead, we should watch Thalia and Nico. How they behave around each other. And so, I decide to send them on a trip. Those who are against it, raise your hands." Artemis's hand shot up. Apollo and Hades raised their hands too. "Anymore? Then it is set. They shall go on a trip. Hermes, please remember to invite Annabeth, Percy, Jason, Piper, Leo, Reyna, Hazel and Frank. Got it? And dear all, please pick a country of your choice and set a test for them. Hades and Artemis. I believe you should release those captives of yours. They're the main characters."

**This chapter seems pretty boring (and really short). It's actually explanations and this will set the remaining parts of the story. Get ready for the adventure coming up. I promise. It will BE exciting! :) **


	8. Chapter 8

**Thx for all your reviews. I must say I got alot of pretty useful tips. And Thalia is supposed to be OOC cos she kinda lost her mind when she fell in love with Nico. And she is super OOC here, and maybe a little brazen. Athena is not really a Thalico lover. She's just neutral. And in this chap, some things may seem very illogical. But this is mythology! Logic is thrown out of the window! Glad you ppl like it though... Thanks! And here comes chap 8!**

**Chapter 8: Awkward Aeroplane moments**

**Thalia's POV**

"Welcome on board. I am Hermes and I will be your guardian and protector for the trip. For the Romans, I am Mercury. Feel free to ask me anything. Now you can catch a nap of stuff like that because this trip is going to take quite some time."

Once Hermes finished his sentence, Thalia stood up and went over to Nico's seat. The gods had arranged them, Leo and Reyna not to sit together. So now Reyna was sitting next to her. Nico's seat was at the far corner at the back. "Where's Leo?" Thalia asked. "Oh, he went to the washroom," Nico replied. Then Thalia sat on his lap and played with his hair. "Miss me?" she whispered. Then she stroked his cheek and kissed him on the forehead. Thalia slowly started to move her lips on Nico's. Their lips moved in time with each other and Nico raised his hands up to Thalia's hair and tangled his fingers in it. His other hand he pulled up to her face and cupped her cheek in his hand. Thalia was in a total daze and she only cared about how good kissing Nico was and did not realize Leo was there, standing right behind them. "Um, I'll leave you to your business," he said awkwardly and went over to Thalia's seat. "Well," Thalia said, "I think I'll just go back to my seat." "It's okay Thal, you can just sit next to me."

**Leo's POV**

"Leo, could you help me get the pills that my dentist has prescribed for me? It-ow! In the front-ow!pocket of my bag , I'm having a toothache... I just had my wisdom tooth extracted and- Ouch! The dentist prescribed me some pain pills. could you you help me get them?" Reyna mumbled. "Oh, um, I'll get it." Shortly after, Leo returned. "There, drink some water." Reyna swallowed a pill and said," can I have another one? My toothache's not going away." "Uh, okay." Leo did not know what and overdose of pills could mean and so gave her another one. And another. And one more. So Reyna had four pills all in all.

Suddenly, Reyna went high. She chased Leo everywhere, claiming him to be her teddy.

"No Reyna, no!" Leo's shouts could be heard even from where Annabeth was sitting (In front). Annabeth immediately rushed to Reyna's seat. She was expecting Reyna to have fainted, but instead, Reyna was chasing Leo, trying to give him a hug. Annabeth was shocked. "What did you give her, Leo?" she demanded to know. "Um, I just gave- Argh!" Reyna had pinned Leo on the ground, and was straddling him. "Annabeth, I gave her some pills that her dentist prescribed for her!" Leo finished his sentence. "How many did you give her then?"

"Um, four?"

"What?! FOUR?! Are you trying to kill her?!" Annabeth shrieked.

"Well, she said she wanted more..."

"Teddy!" Reyna whined and hugged Leo.

"No, Reyna, you can't do this!" and Leo pushed Reyna away. Reyna got up, crossed her arms and pouted her lips. " I don't care. I want teddy." Reyna said, her speech slurring. Then, she grabbed a blanket and tucked Leo in. "Pedophile," Leo muttered and tried to get up. "No, no. Get up again and I'll send you to Octavian." Reyna then cuddled Leo (As if he was really a teddy bear) and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Call Hermes here!" Leo exclaimed.

Hermes came to check on her and then said," Well, she'll be fine in a few hours. Now, just play with her, Leo."

"See? Mercury asked you to play with me!"

"Save meeeeee!" Leo screamed as he tried to run away from Reyna.

**Jason's POV**

"That's really awkward," Piper commented.

"I never knew my fellow praetor was actually so crazy," Jason said.

"Maybe I could charmspeak her into not chasing Leo?" Piper suggested.

Instead of agreeing to it, he said,"Reyna haven't had a good break. Just let her relax this time."

Jason stood up and headed towards Percy's seat when Leo came dashing past Jason and he knocked in to him. Jason lost his balance and hit his head against the side of the plane. "The whole world is spinning," he said and took a few steps and accidentally he tripped over his untied shoelaces and landed on top of his sister, giving her an unexpected kiss on her lips. Thalia pushed him away and screamed,"What do you think you're doing, my little brother?"

"Ugh, the whole world's spinning..." and he fell into Piper's ready arms.

"Call Hermes!" Piper called out.

"Funny. I thought it was always the girl who fell into the guy's arms." Nico said.

"What now?" Hermes said, exasperated.

"Jason hit his head and he's gone dizzy," Piper said.

"Oh. Just a slight concussion," Hermes said as he called for Apollo.

**Piper's POV**

A bright light engulfed the whole cabin and the god of medicine appeared. "God of medicine, at your service. So who's Jason?"

Hermes pointed at the guy in front of him with blonde hair.

"Oh, him. Thalia Grace's Roman brother, right? Thalia, am I right?"

Thalia rolled her eyes.

Then Apollo waved a hand over Jason and he fell asleep.

"He'll be alright," Apollo said. "Now I'll have a chat with Thalia."

"Hey Thal, I heard you've got a new boyfriend."

"That's none of your business."

"That's no way to talk to a god!"

"So don't you flirt with me! I've got a boyfriend, as you said. And Nico's here!"

Apollo took a look at the son of Hades. "Never mind." Then Apollo left with a flash of bright light.

"Everyone, listen up! I want all of you to stay in whichever seat you're sitting and now more moving!" Hermes said sternly. "Leo, back to your seat and let Reyna hug you!" There were some stifled laughs as Reyna whopped in joy and dragged Leo back to the seats. "Good. Now stay in your own seats and mind your own business!"

Soon they arrived at their first destination set by Poseidon: Caribbean Islands-The Bahamas.

**The real adventures are going to begin soon. This is just for laughs. And do you think I should change the rating to T? And of course, review please! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**I regret doing this. I mean like its so tough to get all the facts right and I'm already tired at the first destination. But anyway, it's kinda fun and yeah so here's chapter 9. And the last chapter had quite many mistakes cos' I was trying to think what I could write and how it would fit the couple(s).**

***Insert disclaimer here***

**Chapter 9: Truth or dare (1)**

**Thalia's POV**

After touching down at the airport, collected their baggage and went through the customs. Well, many things couldn't get through the customs, examples like Piper's dagger, Annabeth's knife and the pepper spray Thalia brought. The three girls whispered and decided that Piper would charmspeak their way out. And so Thalia managed to get her pepper spray out but Annabeth and Piper had to surrender their weapons. But they still got their weapons back because Hazel had managed to summon their weapons back to them on their way out.

"That's the good thing about our weapons taking on another harmless form," Percy and Jason laughed.

"There's a minivan waiting for us outside the airport. So gather your luggage and move," Hermes announced to the little group. Everyone dragged their luggage and moved towards the minivan.

After all their luggage were loaded, they boarded the minivan and sat down. "Okay kids. This ride is about 20 minutes. No screaming, no chasing. Understood?" Then Hermes sat in front together with the driver and they drove off.

"Hey, I'm bored," Percy said. "Let's play truth or dare."

"Sounds good," Jason said. "Let's start!"

"Let's start from Nico then," Leo suggested.

"Why me? I don't want to start the game! Why not let Leo start the game?" Nico protested.

"Sure. Then we'll start with Leo," Jason said with an evil glint in his eyes. "Truth or dare?"

"Ha. That's simple. I go for dare!"

"Sure. Then I dare you to kiss..."

"Who?"

"Nico. For two minutes ON THE LIPS. And wait. I want it to be a french kiss."

"What?! Then I'll pick truth."

"Too late. Now go kiss Nico."

"Ewww... Why me? Jason!Change the dare!" Nico said.

"Blame Leo, not me," Jason said, trying to shrug the blame off himself.

"Jason Grace! He's MY boyfriend, mind you," Thalia said, giving him a _he's-mine-and-you-do-not-touch-him_ stare.

"I'm not changing the dare. And sis, this is boys' talk. Now kiss him, Leo."

"Sorry, dude. I have to kiss you since that's all Jason's got." Leo apologized to Nico.

"How sweet," Jason said sarcastically.

Leo shrugged and moved over to Nico's seat and just pretty much... kissed him. It was really ordinary. If you erase the fact that one of them is a guy it wouldn't be out of the ordinary.

Normal make-out session. Leo's hands were tangled up in Nico's messy black hair and Nico's palms were flat on his seat. Jason had his camera video taping every detail (As if they wanted to know and re-watch) and the rest of them just fidgeting awkwardly in their seats. Hazel was hiding beside Frank with her eyes closed on his broad shoulders. Reyna was watching her watch timing the 2 minutes. Piper stared, mouth agape. Annabeth closed her own eyes and covered Percy's.

**Meanwhile...**

**Thalia's POV**

She went up to Jason Grace.

"Jason, I warned you. And you didn't listen so-"

Thalia grabbed him by the wrist and judo flipped Jason. He landed on his back with a loud 'thump!'

"Ow..." Jason groaned as he got up. "Sis, go lighter on me the next time. I don't have iron skin and steel bones."

Just then, Reyna announced, "Okay. Two minutes up. Lips off!"

Nico was the first to react. He pushed Leo away immediately, asked Thalia to pass him a bottle of water gulped it down.

"Now I feel better,"Nico said. "I still can't believe I kissed Leo!"

"You wanna re-watch it? I taped it all down!" Jason said cheekily.

"What's wrong with the praetors today? One takes me as a teddy bear, the other makes me kiss Nico and tapes it down!" Leo ranted.

"Chill, dude," Percy said,"don't get so worked up."

"How can I not get angry?" Leo said, raising his voice.

"Leo, what happened?" Hermes asked.

"Jason made me kiss Nico!"

"It's okay. Now keep quiet."

"See? Hermes told you to keep quiet," Jason said.

Leo shut up and shot an evil look at Jason.

Soon, they reached their hotel. The bellboys/bellhop (whatever you call it) opened the door of the minivan and then helped to send the luggage to their respective rooms. Hermes gave him a little tip and he continued with his work. After they entered the main lobby of the hotel, Hermes checked in for them and got the room keys. He then gave out the room keys. "Nico and Thalia, Room 1854, Annabeth and Percy, Room 1855, Leo and Reyna, Room 1856, Hazel and Frank, Room 1857, and I'll be in Room 1858. Everybody clear?" Everyone nodded their heads. "Okay. Since everyone's clear, we'll take the lift up."

The lift lobby was crowded with people. Hermes said," I believe its only going to take another six people. As usual, ladies first. Which boy wants to volunteer to stay here and wait for the next lift? Leo, you have to wait because you shouted on the bus." Nico's hand shot up. "Good. The rest you're coming with me. You two will wait for the next lift. We'll meet you on the 18th floor."

The two boys nodded as they watched the other friends go up first.

**I am still unable to lengthen my stories. Never mind. But, if you're observant enough, I have hinted another couple. They will not be together (duh. Although I kinda ship them) and I will not have them together (at any rate) and spoil Thalico. And I'm asking again. Should I change the ratings to "T"? And you must be wondering why the (1). Its because they will not be only playing one game of truth or dare. And anyway, please review! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello again. Yes, that couple is Leco or to make it clearer, it's Nico/Leo, but this is a mistake by Aphrodite. She wasn't paying attention. later you'll read about it. And I'm running out of ideas! But I'll still make sure the story is up to standard. For now, just R&R.**

**Chapter 10: The Elevator Incident**

**Leo's POV**

Leo tapped his foot impatiently as he and Nico waited for one of the six lifts to come down.

"Stop tapping your foot. It's irritating," Nico complained.

'Oh. Sorry."

Soon, Elevator 4 came down with a bunch of tourists. The tourists exited the and Leo and Nico entered the lift with another couple. Leo pressed the '18' button and and the couple pressed the '13' button. Slowly, the elevator went up. Leo began tapping his foot again.

"Leo! Stop it!"

The couple looked back and gave them weird looks. Leo and Nico just smiled.

Nico gave Leo _a tap-your-foot-again-and-I'll-kill-you _look.

"Ding!" The elevator doors opened and the couple went out, relieved to be out of that elevator with two weird teenage boys.

**Meanwhile...**

**Olympus**

**Aphrodite's POV**

**Aphrodite was busy setting the test for Thalia and Nico.**

She looked up at the mist that showed Nico. There was Nico in the elevator. Standing beside him was someone that looked vaguely like Thalia. The short black hair and the slim build. (**A/N: Well, Aphrodite wasn't paying attention.)**"That's it. Thalia in the lift with Nico. Maybe I could..." She gave a sly grin and muttered some words. "That should do the trick!"

**Back to the elevator...**

**Nico's POV**

The lift slowly moved up.

"Why is this lift so slow?" Leo mumbled as he began tapping his foot.

"Um, I think it's stopped."

"What?!"

"Yup. We're now stuck on the 15th-and-a-half-floor."

"Holy Hephaestus! There is no way we can get out of here! What are we going to do?"

"Calm down, Leo. We'll think of a plan."

"What plan do you have then?" Leo said as he slumped against the side of the lift.

"Press the emergency button and wait then. Unless you're telling me you can tinker with this lift and make it work," Nico said as he sat down at a corner.

"I don't want to try. We're hanging 50 meters/164 feet above ground and I don't want to fall to my death."

"Then we'll wait. Why not take a seat?"

Leo pressed the emergency button first and then sat next to Nico.

**5 minutes later...**

**Thalia's POV**

"What's taking Nico and Leo so long?" Hazel complained.

"Can we just not wait for them?" Percy grumbled.

Hermes stroked his chin and said, "I'll go and have a chat with Aphrodite." And disappeared with a flash of golden light.

"Hey, Hermes! What has this got to do with Aphrodite. Come back!" Thalia called out. She was seriously worried about Nico.

**Meanwhile...**

**Olympus**

"Oh my! Hermes! What are you doing here? I thought you were off to accompany those little couples!"

"No, Aphrodite, listen-"

"Oh, I know! Maybe you're feeling lonely since everyone's a couple. I can tag along!"

"No, what I want to say is-"

"How did you find the 'trapped in the elevator' plan? It's great, right? Look at that!" Aphrodite continued, ignoring Hermes. She pulled Hermes in front of the mist and a picture shimmered. "The elevator!" Hermes said. "What have you done?"

"Well, I just made sure Nico and Thalia had some time together."

"What?!" Hermes said, mouth agape. "That's not Thalia! It's Nico and Leo!"

"What?!" Aphrodite shrieked. "Oh my! What have I done?"

She began to murmur some words and then she turned back to Hermes. "Okay. Problem solved. And the lift will be back to normal once you get back to the hotel." Then, she went back to her table and continued to think of what she could set for the couples, and most importantly, Nico and Thalia.

**Back at the hotel...**

**Thalia's POV**

Hermes came back in a golden flash of light, as dramatic as he had left.

"So how was it?" Thalia asked. The distraught in her voice

"Very well. I believe they're here."

The elevator doors opened and Nico and Leo were in there.

"That's absurd!" Piper said, clearly shocked.

Nico was lying on Leo's shoulder, and Leo had his arm wrapped around Nico. And well, they were sleeping.

Thalia was the next to recover. She rushed into the lift and woke the two boys up.

"Uh? Ahhh!" Nico woke up, flabbergasted at their position.

Leo then woke up rubbing his eyes and stretching. The two boys quickly stood up and rushed out of the elevator along with Thalia before they closed.

'Thalia, I really have nothing to do with Leo!"

"Me too!" Leo agreed.

"I know that. What happened anyway?"

Leo and Nico then related the story to everyone and Hermes helped to fill in the other missing details.

After they finished the story, Hermes told them to go to their rooms and wait for the first letter.

**Nico's POV**

Nico swiped his card in the slot and the light turned green. He opened the door, and was immediately awed by the interior. The walls were painted black, and a 32 inch flat screen television was mounted on the wall. Then, at the side of the room, there was a king-sized bed with black sheets and gold pillow covers. The wardrobes were made of black acrylic and the clothes in there were tailor made, plus the view was breathtaking. Thalia opened the fridge and realized it was pretty magical because it was always filled with whatever you wanted to eat. "Well, I'm beginning to like this vacation!" Thalia exclaimed. They then jumped on the bed like five-year-olds until they got tired.

Thalia snuggled against Nico and began to play with his shirt buttons.

"Nico..." she began as she started to unbutton the shirt.

"No, Thalia. Your father would zap me and Lady Artemis will hunt me down," Nico said, taking away Thalia's hand. "Plus you're still a hunter, Thalia."

Thalia frowned. "But then can I still have a kiss?" she asked.

"Alright then."

Just when their lips touched, a blue envelope appeared out of nowhere and landed on Thalia's lap.

It was addressed:

To Thalia and friends

Thalia opened the letter eagerly.

It read:

Dear all,

Have a good time at the beach! Don't worry about the tests.

Love, Poseidon

"Okay, so do we tell the rest?"

"Of course we have to!" Thalia said, getting up. "Let's go!"

**No lemons, Don't worry. And no more Leco. Back to Thalico! And I don't think I'll be able to update that frequently. My school term is going to start soon (I'm in Singapore) and I don't think I'll have that much time so I'll possibly update one a week. Remember to check and review! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**I'm back! And the test? Heh. Poseidon didn't tell them what he was going to test them cos' if he told them, it wouldn't be fun anymore! So read, and you'll know what the test is... R&R ppl...**

**Chapter 11: Empousas, Telekhines and First-aid**

**Thalia's POV**

Everyone had gathered at Hermes's suite.

"So what's the test all about?" Leo asked.

"You read it yourself then," Thalia said, handing the letter to him.

"Dear all," Leo began to read. "Have a good time at the beach! Don't worry about the tests. Love, Poseidon."

"That's all?" Reyna asked, snatching the letter from Leo's hand.

"It seems like that's the end of the letter."

"No tests?" Hermes asked suspiciously.

"Yup. No mentions on what Poseidon is going to test us on,"Leo answered.

"Hmm... Maybe the test is at the beach but we do not know what he's going to test us?" Annabeth said thoughtfully.

"Good idea, Annabeth. Let's go and get changed and gather here in 10 minutes. Okay?"

Then everyone went back to their own rooms to get changed.

**Back in the room...**

"Put this, this and this on, okay?" Thalia said as she dumped the clothes onto Nico's arms. "And take that aviator jacket off. Don't you find it warm?"

"But..."

"No buts. Now go and change," Thalia ordered, pushing him into the bathroom and closed the door behind him.

"Now, time for me to change."

When Nico walked out of the bathroom, he found Thalia dressed in a tie-dyed black shirt and white with black flower print shorts.

"Well, you look good!" Thalia said when she saw Nico.

"I feel weird. Can I just put my aviator jacket back on?"

"No. You're in the 21st century now. Not the 1920's. So bear with this or you're not going out."

"Okay," Nico sighed.

When walking out of the room, they met Leo and Reyna. "Seems like death boy is finally willing to part with his jacket," Leo joked.

Nico gave Leo one of his _what-did-you _say stares and Leo shut up.

**Hermes's suite**

"Everyone ready?" Hermes asked as he did a quick check. "Let's go!"

They took a short walk before they reached the beach.

As usual, there were some people suntanning, swimming and doing all sorts of random things. They took off their clothes that they wore over their swimsuits. For the ladies, their swimsuits/bikinis were specially selected by Aphrodite, and they weren't expecting anything modest. Annabeth's was a grey one-piece that was very low at the top that you could see part of her shoulders and breasts. And she was kind of blushing. "Maybe it's a bit too revealing for for her taste," Thalia thought. Hazel's was wearing a brown backless one-piece with gold frills. Piper's was a hot pink bikini with polka dots and ruffles. Well, although Piper was not blushing, Jason's cheeks were flushed red. Leo gave out a small chuckle. Thalia then saw Reyna's. Reyna's swimsuit was a close-fitting, décolleté one piece in a shade of royal purple. And for hers, it was a strapless one piece, black at the bottom and purple, brown, and black around the top.

"Seems like Aphrodite really has very good taste in clothes," Annabeth said sarcastically.

"Who cares?" Percy said as he waddled into the sea. "Come on! Don't tell me you're going to stand there the whole day?" Leo ran and jumped in, falling right on Percy. "Ouch..." Percy groaned. "You're really heavy for a scrawny boy!"

Leo gave Percy apologetic smile and gestured for the rest to join them.

**Meanwhile...**

"Delphin, it's time. Let the test begin."

"Yes, my Lord," Delphin answered as he swam away.

**At the beach...**

**Nico's POV**

"Seaweed brain, what do you think that is?" Annabeth asked as she pointed towards the horizon.

Percy turned to look. "Maybe some waves," he replied nonchalantly.

"They seem huge. I mean like-"

"Yes? Why aren't you continuing?" Percy asked. There was no reply. "Annabeth? Wise girl? Where are you?" Percy called out anxiously.

"Percy-" A head of blonde hair bobbed up and then disappeared under the water.

"Annabeth!" Percy shouted as he went to look for Annabeth.

_Hissss..._

"Did you hear that?" Piper asked cautiously.

"Hear what?" Thalia and Jason asked in unison.

_Hissss..._

A lady who was wearing a sun hat made of straw stood up from her chair and put her hand to her mouth And whistled . a pack of dogs and more ladies wearing sun hats came. The lady wearing the straw sun hat took it off and revealed her flaming hair.

"Empousas!" Thalia said. "And, and, those dogs are telekhines!"

Jason immediately ran out of the sea and rummaged through his clothes. He took out his coin and tossed it into the air. It landed on the heads and it turned into a sword. Thalia grabbed her bow and notched an arrow. It flew and hit one of the empousas in the forehead and it disintegrated on the spot. Leo and Reyna only managed to stand up when a fishing net fell on them and then seaweed shot out of the sand, tying them up together. Frank turned into a crow and began pecking the monster's eyes out. Hazel threw precious metals and jewels as her spatha was too bulky to be brought to the beach. Nico summoned his Stygian iron sword from the ground and charged towards the empousas but something held him back. Green and wet. Seaweed. Lots and lots of them. They wrapped themsleves around Nico's legs, anchoring him to the ground. No matter how much he slashed, more seaweed just replaced the ones that were cut off. The seaweed was now up to his neck, and slowly, it wrapped him up like a mummy and then he felt himself falling backwards, unable to see anything. He landed into the water with a splash and he tried to get up but the seaweed held him down. He struggled for air, thrashing around in the water. And then he felt himself floating back onto the surface of the sea and then he blacked out.

**Thalia's POV**

Thalia, Jason, Piper and Hazel were standing back to back. The empousas and telekhines had closed on them. "Attack!" Thalia ordered. They attacked, slashing whatever monster that came their way. Then, at the corner of her eyes, a green mummy floated onto the water. "That's weird," she thought as she took down another monster with her hunting knives. "Where's Nico anyway?" Nico. Nico! She threw down her knives and ran towards the body. Thalia dragged Nico out of the sea and onto the sand. The little battle was still raging around them, with Leo and Reyna trussed up like turkeys, and Hermes had seemed to disappear into thin air.

She tore away the seaweed and checked for his pulse. It was weak, but yes, he was still alive, he still stood a chance. She had learnt first-aid as a hunter. She depressed his chest, and then gave him two breaths. She repeated it until he coughed out water. His eyes fluttered open weakly. Thalia, in a giddy haze of relief, kissed him. "Nico, are you feeling alright?"

"Yes..." Nico replied weakly.

Thalia kissed him again and then said, "there, I'll bring you back to the hotel."

"Pause," a voice boomed and then Poseidon appeared with a smiling Annabeth And Percy.

"You have passed the test. And congrats! Well, I believe Hermes will return soon. And so, goodbye and good luck with the tests, demigods." With that, Poseidon left, bringing the monsters away and freeing Leo and Reyna.

"What happened?" Leo asked, getting up.

"Tell you more when you get back!" Percy said with a wink.

**Great! I've now finished the 11th chap! I had to type this on my iPad cos my laptop got confiscated, the computer locked by my mom and so pardon me for grammatical errors and spelling errors. I'll be updating maybe in a week's time. For now, pls review what you think bout' this test!**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm so sorry, my dear readers. I haven't got the time to update cos' I was very busy. My examinations are coming up soon and so sometimes I'll only update once every two weeks. Anyways, we have our next test from... Read on, I won't tell you. For now, R&R ppl!**

**Chapter 12: Nico and** **Natalia**

**Leo's** **POV**

**Back at the hotel...**

"So, Percy, what exactly happened?" Thalia asked.

"So after Annabeth got pulled down, I followed her and then reached my dad's palace. Annabeth was sitting next to my dad in an air bubble and they seemed to be watching something. I went over and called, 'Dad!' Poseidon looked up from the screen and gestured me to go over. I swam over and saw that they were watching you guys. And then I saw the whole process of how Nico got wrapped up, and Thalia saving Nico. After everything, my dad brought me and Annabeth back up to the surface," Percy explained.

"So this is the test?" Reyna asked, still puzzled.

"Yes," Annabeth said. "This test is to if Thalia would continue fighting or save Nico. So basically it's just to test how much you two love each other."

Thalia nodded her head. "So all the gods were watching me and Nico just now?"

"Yeah. All. It's compulsory. Kind of, " Annabeth said.

"Oh Zeus!" Thalia said as she buried her face in Nico's chest.

"And, um, just to tell you, they're monitoring everything you do. Including our conversation now,"Annabeth added helpfully.

"Ugh," Thalia groaned. "Are they stalkers or something? Anyway, Hermes, since we've passed the test, why not you tell us where is the next test going to be held?"

"Um... Hang on... There! From Dionysus... We're going to Italy!"

"Italy?" They all asked in unison.

"Yes. So anyway, we'll be resting here for a night before we go to Italy. Any more questions? Alright then, now you may go back to your respective rooms and meet me in my suite 4 hours later. Clear? Now off you go."

They took the lift up to the 18th floor and went back to the rooms. Leo swiped the card and the door unlocked with a beep. He pushed it open and entered it. It had been customized to fit Reyna's expectations but not his. The walls were painted royal purple and the bed was a wooden four-poster bed made of mahogany and the wardrobe was made of the same material too. Reyna undid her braid and said, "Leo Valdez, no peeking while I'm bathing or I kill you personally." Then she went into the bathroom and locked the door. Leo walked over to the fridge and opened the door. He took a can of coke out and popped open the top. He took a gulp and without realizing it, he had actually finished the can of coke. Waiting for others was really a chore. He played with the can and then he got an idea. He took out the pop-tab (whatever you call it; the ring you use to pop open the top of the can) and chucked the can into the bin. Then he took some nylon string, tape and a hook out of his tool belt. He tied one end of the string to the pop-tab and tied the hook to the other end of the string. Then he stuck the end with the pop-tab to the bed and placed the hook at an angle that would effectively hook things when the string is disturbed. Just then, Reyna came out of the bath. "Your turn to bathe," she said. "You wouldn't want the salt from the sea sticking to your skin." And the she took a step forward and accidentally disturbed the string. The hook hooked onto Reyna's robe and the robe slid down her porcelain smooth skin. Leo could feel his own heart beating like crazy and and he felt breathless. Reyna's eyes widened in shock and both of them stood there, frozen on the spot. Reyna quickly crossed her arms over her chest and turned around. "Explain yourself, Valdez," she growled.

"Um... I, I wasn't expecting this,"Leo stuttered.

"What were you expecting then?" Reyna then picked up her robe and wrapped it around herself. "Go now!"

Leo quickly took some clothes from the wardrobe and quickly went into the bathroom, leaving Reyna alone.

**Hermes's Suite **

"Is everyone here?" Hermes asked as he did a quick count. "Okay, now we'll be going for dinner."

They went down to the lobby and took a short walk to a beach themed restaurant. Reyna didn't seem to have much of an appetite. Her salad was untouched and it was only the starter. Leo felt pretty guilty for playing that trick on Reyna. Soon, they had finished their dinner. There wasn't much to celebrate and everyone was not in the mood to celebrate, seeing that the next test is set by Mr D.

Soon, they had finished their dinner and they went back to their rooms.

Leo opened the wardrobe and found two sets of pajamas. Reyna had a purple silk pajamas and for himself, he thought as he took it out,"must the gods play such an evil trick on me?" The pajamas was a normal set of pajamas, except that it had teddy bear patterns on it. He opened and closed the wardrobe a few times, but nothing there were no other choices. "Oh well then," he mumbled as he went to change.

After he had changed into the pajamas, he came out. Maybe it was a bad choice to wear it because the moment Reyna saw him, she grinned and tackled him.

"Teddy," she said, giving Leo a big, wet kiss.

"Eww... Don't tell me you are high again?"

"I don't know," she said, giggling away while pulling Leo onto the bed.

Leo observed the room for any possibilities why she is now sugar high. A plate of macaroons. That must be the reason why Reyna has gone high. But before he could do anything, Reyna was already on top of him, and was giving him more kisses.

"Argh, Reyna, get off me! I'm not your teddy!" Leo protested, pushing Reyna away.

Reyna frowned. "Then can I hug you?"

"Um..."

"I'll take it as a yes then!" Reyna switched off the lights and hugged teddy Leo to sleep.

"I just hope the gods don't give her anymore macaroons," Leo mumbled.

**The next day...**

**Thalia's POV**

The sunlight was streaming through the little gaps of the curtains. Thalia woke up, rubbing her eyes. She turned around, only to find the other side of the bed empty.

"Thalia, time to wake up!" Nico said as he pinched Thalia's nose lightly. Thalia scrunched her nose and slipped her feet into her slippers.

"Where's the morning kiss?" Nico teased. Thalia punched him lightly and gave him a peck on his lips. Nico gave her a small smile.

"You should smile more often, you know. You look better," Thalia said, heading for the bathroom.

Soon Thalia was ready. She and Nico took their luggage and closed the door and headed for Hermes's suite. At the same time, Leo and Reyna were out of their rooms too. Reyna seemed energetic while Leo was the complete opposite. He was yawning away as he pulled his red luggage.

"Leo, didn't have a good night's sleep, did you?" Thalia asked.

"Don't remind me about it. Just remember to tell Hermes not to give her anymore macaroons," he grumbled. "Finally, there you are!" Hermes said. He was wearing a yellow sports jacket with an orange shirt with a pair of matching yellow and orange track pants. "All ready? I hope you had a good night's sleep!" he added cheerfully. "Lets go!"

The minivan was already waiting for them. Hermes checked out and led the little group towards the minivan. "Aren't we having breakfast?" Frank asked. "Oh, breakfast? On the plane!" Hermes answered as he helped Reyna with her luggage. They went onto the minivan and it sped off.

"Hey, let's play truth or dare... Jason!" Leo and Nico said slyly.

"Hey, not me!"

"Yes you."

Jason frowned. "Can I go for truth?"

"No you can't. You must go for dare!" Leo said.

"Alright then. What's the dare?"

"Hmm... Lemme think... Aha! I want you to pour cold water over Hazel and... slap her!"

"What kind of dare is this?" Jason demanded. "It's a bad idea!"

"What kind of dare is this?" Leo mimicked.

Jason huffed and got a bottle of water and poured it over Hazel. Then he turned to face Frank. "Sorry, Leo made me do this,"Jason said apologetically and slapped Hazel in the face. Although it was only a dare, Hazel still got angry. A whole pile of jewels and precious metals overwhelmed him. Jason sat up and spat out a mouthful of emeralds and rubies. "I told you, it was a bad idea," Jason frowned as he sat up to face a fuming mad Hazel and Frank.

"Um..."

"Okay guys, we've reached the airport," Hermes announced from the front.

"Oh thank goodness," Jason murmured as he quickly got off the minivan.

They unloaded all their stuff and entered the airport. They checked in without any pesky monsters attacking them and managed to get onto the plane safely.

**Few hours later...**

They touched down on Italy. They went through the customs, and as usual, some items couldn't get through. Piper had to charmspeak the officer again and the boys had a good laugh. Annabeth complained and Reyna threatened to kill Leo if he dare laugh at her again. That pretty much stopped the laughing. Hermes had everything ready for them. The minivan had arrived and Thalia thought it seemed like the exact same minivan they had taken during the time at Bahamas. But with the gods, nothing was really normal.

The ride was a long one. They had to go to the countryside as Mr D had told them to. Leo was sleeping, and he drooled. Percy nudged Annabeth and pointed to Leo. She sighed and woke Leo up to wipe his drool off. "Don't you dare dream about me," Reyna whispered into his ear. Leo nodded and went back to sleep.

They stopped in front of a vintage looking vineyard. "That's the one?" Nico asked. "If I'm not wrong, that should be it," Hermes said as he checked his mail. Nico stepped in. The ripe grapes hung down from their thin vines that curled around the wood for support. The smell of freshly pressed grapes filled the air. "I think I know why Dionysus chose this place," Annabeth commented. Suddenly, Percy, Jason and Frank tensed. "Shh... There's someone there..." Frank said. A girl was walking towards them. She had the same eyes as Nico's, and she looked no more than fourteen.

"Erm... Do you..." Hazel asked as confidently as possible.

Before she could continue, the girl responded,"hello, you must be the group that has come on a educational tour, right? I am Natalia Di Angelo. Please follow me."

**Yippie! Another chapter down! I have a biiiiig surprise for you in the next chapter! I know the first part on Leyna was a bit... Maybe awkward? Anyway, please review this chapter and tell me what you think!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Okay, so now you must be wondering who is Natalia Di Angelo. How is she related to Nico, right? So in this chapter I will tell you more about her, but erm, she isn't the future child of Thalia and Nico. So read on and you'll find out who exactly she is. Oh yes, and just to inform, although there isn't any lemons there WILL BE slight sexual innuendos. Seriously, I'm warning you. I won't be soft-peddling anything more than it already is…**

**Warning once again: Slight ****sexual innuendos, vulgarities. Skip it if you don't like it. It's not too late to turn back...**

*******Insert disclaimer here***

**Chapter 13: A bottle of Chianti (a kind of wine)**

**Nico's POV**

"Natalia? You're a Di Angelo?" Nico asked suspiciously.

"Yes of course! My family has been working in this vineyard for generations!" she replied. "Come on, I'll bring you to see the place that you're staying."

The group followed Natalia. She turned and turned and finally, they reached the place that they were going to stay. It was painted white and there were three storeys. They entered the house. There was a man in his sixties reading a newspaper on a rocking chair at the corner of the room. When he saw them, he stood up.

"Hello there," he said in perfect English. "You must be that group from America, right?"

"Yes," Hermes said, stepping up. "I believe you have their names."

"Oh yes," the old man said, taking out a piece of paper from a cabinet.

"There's Perseus Jackson, Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Frank Zhang, Hazel Levesque, Leo Valdez, Reyna and Nico Di Angelo..." the old man's voice faltered. "Natalia, bring the guests up. Except for Mr Di Angelo. After you're done, come down. We have something to discuss,"he ordered. Natalia nodded her head and brought the others up. Hermes had followed the group up, leaving Nico and the old man. "Take a seat, Nico," he said as he gestured to a nearby seat. "I have some questions to ask you." Nico leaned forward. "But before that, I have something to ask. Who is Natalia?' The old man laced his fingers together and smiled. "I was about to explain. She is my grand daughter. My son has gone to the city for a few days for a business deal. And young man, may I ask who are your parents?" Nico took a deep breath and said,"my mother is Maria Di Angelo. My father, well, he has gone missing. I never knew him." Nico was reluctant to tell this old guy that his father was Hades. The old man might just get a shock and have a heart attack. "Nico Di Angelo. If I'm not wrong, he should be my uncle," he sighed as he leaned back against the chair. Nico swallowed. _He's my nephew? And doesn't that mean that Natalia is my great grand niece?_

"It's too much of a coincidence..." the old man muttered under his breath in Italian,"but he is not so young."

"Anyway,"the old man said,"it has been a pleasure talking to you." Just then, Natalia came down. "Natalia, please bring Mr Di Angelo up." Natalia led Nico up the wooden staircase. His room was on the second floor. Suddenly, Natalia pulled Nico into a dark corner.

"What did my grandfather tell you?"she whispered in Ancient Greek. Nico was taken aback. How did she know how to speak Ancient Greek?

"Tell me first. How do you know how to speak Ancient Greek? Are you a demigod?" Nico questioned.

"Demeter,"she murmured,"she's my mother. My dad has a greenhouse at the back of the vineyard, and Demeter liked it, so..." Nico's eyes widened in shock. "Demeter? Then, do you know about Camp Half-blood?" she nodded her head and replied,"I don't want to go there, I won't be able to take care of grand dad. And I do know you are my great grand uncle. Hermes had informed me-"

"Nico? Nico?" Thalia's voice echoed around the corridor, breaking their conversation.

"Thalia's here, quick, get out!" Nico ordered as they slipped out, ladies first, and continued walking like nothing had happened. "There you are, Nico!" Thalia said, hugging him and giving him a kiss. "Let me show you the room!"she said excitedly as she grabbed Nico's hand and ran towards their room. Nico looked back once more, and Natalia gave him a reassuring smile, an disappeared down the stairs.

Thalia unlocked the door. The room was made out of wood, and there was a bed with grey bed sheets and white pillows near the window. There were two bedside tables, each on one side of the bed, with a lamp on each. Thalia brought him to the window. It had a good view of the vineyard and as the vineyard was situated on higher ground, they could see the sun that was starting to set in between two mountains. The sky was colored with red, orange, yellow and pink hues. Nico put an arm around Thalia's waist and she leaned her head against Nico's shoulder as they admired the scenery.

**The next day...**

**Thalia's POV**

Everyone was down at the first floor, having their breakfast.

"Today, I am going to give you a tour of the vineyard. After that, I'll show you how wine is made and you can try making your own wine too," Natalia said.

"Uh kay," Percy said, not taking much interest in the itinerary. "How about the test that-" Annabeth hurriedly clamped a hand over Percy's mouth. "Mmmm!" Annabeth took her hand off and stepped on his foot. "Watch your words, she's a mortal!" Annabeth whispered. Percy nodded as he went back to his breakfast. "We'll be leaving in fifteen minutes time!" Natalia announced as she walked out of the house. Everyone ate their breakfast in silence and after they finished, Thalia volunteered to help bring the plates to the kitchen.

They all were ready in fifteen minutes. Natalia led them around the vineyard, showing and explaining to them about each kind of grape and what kind of wine they make. Mr D would have paid great attention, but the demigods weren't. They were keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of an envelope. A purple one, preferably. Thalia looked around, paying attention to every place that an envelope could be kept. _There's a purple envelope! _she thought as she passed under one of the vines. _Wait, a purple envelope? _Thalia took two steps back. She jumped up and grabbed the envelope. The envelope itself was a shade of dark purple and it read: _  
_

To all on the test

"Everyone! I found the letter!" Thalia shouted. Everyone gathered eagerly around around her. Thalia read the letter out.

"Little brats, I am having a good time without you and I believe you're having a good time too. So I'm here to make your life miserable by asking you to get a bottle of Chianti and everyone has to drink. I repeat, you _must drink_. Here is the list on how many glasses you'll have to drink to pass my test: Annabeth - 1 glass, Percy - 2 glasses, Reyna - 2 glasses, Leo - 2 glasses, Jason - 2 glasses, Piper - 3 glasses, Frank - 2 glasses, Hazel - 1 glass, Thalia - 2 glasses, Nico - 3 glasses. That's about all. So now, remember my test and no cheating on the glasses of wine. I am watching. Your camp director, Mr D."

"Okay... So we'll have to drink?" Hazel asked.

"Yeah, according to how many Mr D wants you to drink,"Reyna said.

"Let's tell that to Hermes, like now,"Piper suggested.

"Hang on, I'll tell that to Natalia,"Nico said as he went up to Natalia. "Dionysus just gave us the test. Do you think you're able to cut short this?"Nico asked.

"Okay then. I'll cut it short,"she told Nico. "Okay everyone, I heard some of you aren't feeling well so I decided to let you go back earlier," Natalia said. The demigods smiled as they made their way back to the house.

**Nico's POV**

Nico decided to have a look at the garden that had made Demeter fall in love with Natalia's dad.

The garden was the half the size of the house. It grew all sorts of flowers from honeysuckle to roses, and the greenhouse contained even rarer species of flowers. "Does your dad sell these flowers?" Nico asked. "Nah. These flowers in the greenhouse are specially cultivated by Demeter herself. Dad treasures them a lot."

"Oh," Nico replied, sniffing a Wisteria. A sweet smell overwhelmed him, but yet, the scent isn't overpowering. Maybe somewhere between orchids and honey. Anyway, it smelt so good. _No wonder she's the goddess of agriculture,_ Nico thought. They walked around the greenhouse for a while more before Annabeth found them and called them back to the house for dinner.

As they neared the house, Nico could smell lasagna. It smelled so familiar. One part of him seemed to be waking, finding him. The kind of lasagna that his mom made, with lots of cheese on top, as how he had liked it when his mother was still alive. They entered the house. _This is so cosy,_ he thought. They had their dinner like one big family.

**Thalia's POV**

"Bring the wine out, Natalia,"Natalia's grandfather ordered after they had finished their dinner. Natalia walked towards a wine rack and cautiously took out a bottle of wine. "This is one of our best bottles of Chianti," Natalia explained as she opened the wine professionally. Then, she poured everyone a glass. Annabeth went up to Natalia and whispered something in her ear. Natalia nodded and Annabeth returned to her seat.

"What did you tell her?" Percy asked.

"About the wine," Annabeth replied.

"Uh huh."

Apparently, those that had to drink 3 glasses weren't the ones that could hold their liquor well. Annabeth and Thalia helped Piper and Nico up.

"You need me to help you take care of Nico?" Annabeth asked.

"Nah," Thalia said as she kicked open the door. She dragged Nico onto the bed and was about to go out when she felt a hand grab her wrist. "Don't leave me alone," mumbled Nico. With a tug, Nico pulled Thalia onto the bed and rolled on top of her. He pressed his lips to hers in a steamy kiss. Thalia tensed.

"Relax," he whispered lightly into her ear and wrapped his arms around her body and kissed Thalia once more, sending shockwaves through her body. A low moan forced its way out of her mouth.

_Do I really want this? Yes... No... Yes... Am I drunk too?_

A hand slipped up her shirt, breaking her train of thoughts. "No, Nico," she moaned, and she tried to push him away, but Nico just pressed his hot body against hers, not allowing her to escape. He took his lips away from her mouth, gently trailing kisses down to her neck...

**Frank's POV**

"I wonder if Thalia is okay taking care of Nico," Hazel wondered.

"Why not we go up to take a look?" Frank said, standing up from his chair.

They went up to the second floor and Frank went to Thalia and Nico's room, while Hazel went to take care of Piper.

The door was unlocked and Frank pushed open the door, only to see Thalia and Nico...

"Do you - holy f***king shit!"

The sound of people rushing up the stairs could be heard. "What happened?" Annabeth asked. Everyone had gathered outside Thalia and Nico's room.

"They, They're..." Frank stuttered.

Annabeth burst into the room. She gasped.

"NICO! WHAT IN THE NAME OF ZEUS ARE YOU DOING WITH THALIA?!"

Thalia hugged Nico and burrowed her face into his shoulder.

Annabeth stormed forward,"I'm surprised that Zeus didn't fry Nico with a lightning bolt and Artemis didn't kill him!" She pulled them apart and Jason Grace and Percy pulled Nico out of the room.

**Meanwhile...**

**Narrator's POV**

Nico had been placed into another room and was asleep. Annabeth's lecture on modesty and sensibility could be heard from the first floor. Frank was still in a mode of shock. Percy spoke up, breaking the silence. "Guys, maybe we should just go back to sleep," he suggested helpfully.

"Yeah," Jason said, standing up. Leo shuffled his feet up the stairs like a zombie and Reyna followed Leo up the stairs, too. Leo and Reyna went back to their room and lay on the bed. They switched off the lights, only leaving the dim lights of the night lamps.

"Night, Praetor."

"Night, repair boy."

"Night, Reyna."

"Night, Teddy Leo."

Reyna rolled over and hugged Leo.

'Nite, Reyna," Leo whispered.

**Ah yes! I'm done! Finally. So yes, I know this seems a little inappropriate but it's still within the T rating range, so yes. Anyway, leave a comment on what you think about this chapter! Thanks! :)**

**EDIT: Going to update this next week Friday. Until then, you can read my other stories!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey there! As promised, I have updated this story. Normally I'll update once a week, on Fridays. So anyway, read on to find out where is their next location for the test! R&R, ppl. **

**Chapter 14: Breakfast with the gods**

**Nico's POV**

Nico woke up with a throbbing headache. He sat up, only to find himself nearly naked. The second thing that registered in his head was that he wasn't in his room and it was already morning.

"You're awake!" Percy said as he entered the room, holding a glass of water and a bottle of pills. "There, take some. Your head must be pounding." Percy handed him the pills. Nico looked at it.

"Stop staring at it and swallow it down. It'll help with your headache."

Nico took the pills and swallowed it down along with the water.

"Wash up and get dressed, we're having breakfast now," Percy told Nico as he passed him some clothes and a towel and pushed him into the bath. "Come out soon. You wouldn't want Thalia worrying."

Soon, he came out wearing a black shirt and and a pair of black jeans with an aviator jacket. Almost everyone was done with their breakfast.

"Nico!" Thalia called, rushing up and tackling him.

"Um, Thalia..." Nico began. Thalia looked at their friends and Hermes staring at them. She quickly got up and helped Nico up. "I think I'm done with my breakfast," Piper announced as she got up and left her seat. Annabeth, Percy and almost about everyone got up and headed for the kitchen. Hermes just looked up from the paper that he was reading. He murmured something in Greek and disappeared in a flash of golden light. The moment he left, another two gods arrived. Aphrodite was sitting on one of the chairs, wearing a pink and white lacy victorian type dress while fanning herself with one of her lacy pink fans. Dionysus, on the other hand, was as usual wearing a Hawaiian t-shirt and a pair of purple shorts.

"You two are just so cute together!" Aphrodite said. "What happened last night was just so sweet! I could have let it continue, except the fact that Artemis was aiming at me with her arrow." She gave a frown as she waved her hand in front of Thalia and Nico. A misty mirage appeared. Then, the image became clearer. Then it hit Nico. This was whatever that happened last night! _  
_

Even though the whole video/mist was only a few minutes, it was enough for Nico. He really couldn't believe he had done something like this! _Holy Hera, this is not good, _he thought. "Ah, yes," Dionysus said. "You've passed. Go ask Hermes for the next destination."

"What?" Thalia asked with a look of disbelief on her face. "We've passed so easily? No extra challenges?"

"As long as we think you're great together, you'll pass!" Aphrodite half sung, half said as she poured herself a cup of tea.

"There, Thalia. Come here," Aphrodite said, signalling her to go over to her. "Let me give you some tips on love..."

Aphrodite hadn't even begun when another two gods appeared from the front door.

"Thalia, get away from Aphrodite. She's out to pollute your mind. You must not listen to her," Artemis ordered.

"Oh, oh, oh. Artemis, I think you forgot about Orion, haven't you?"

"Shut up," Artemis growled.

"Aphrodite, as much as I do support my daughter in her relationship, I will not allow this to happen!" Zeus said.

Aphrodite shot something back at Zeus in Ancient Greek. Zeus began shouting at Artemis angrily. Soon, they were bickering and shouting at each other in Ancient Greek. Hades arrived and joined in the quarrel. Nico could only catch a few words like stop it, my son, my daughter, and things like that. Very basic Greek. He wasn't very adept in the language itself even though he's half a Greek. Zeus begins taking out his master bolt and Artemis has one hand on her bow, the other hand notching an arrow.

"Oh, no," Thalia said, shaking her head and backing away. Then, another god appeared in the middle of the gods just as Artemis was about to shoot Aphrodite.

"Geez, Artemis. Chill," Poseidon said. "There, you two, go take a walk or something, I'll solve this."

Nico and Thalia quickly ran out of the house and into the vineyard, relieved that they were saved from this godly fight.

**A few hours later...**

The gods had vacated the house and Hermes was having a little chat with Natalia. "You're back! We'll be leaving in um..." Hermes looked at his watch. "In one hour's time! How about that?" Nico and Thalia went back up to their room to pack their bags up. They climbed up the stairs and entered the room.

Thalia sat next to Nico on the bed. "I thought... Italians were supposed to hold their liquor well?" Thalia teased.

"Maybe. But with Aphrodite, impossible."

"Well, I didn't know that my dad would be so agitated over this matter. I thought he didn't care about me."

"Me too. What a lot of new things I'm learning about my godly parent today."

"I think we should pack up soon and go down. The rest should be ready. Maybe I wanna get Natalia's number too. She's quite a nice girl. And she's a di Angelo! Is she related to you anyway?"

Nico shrugged his shoulders and gave a smile. Nico packed his items. There wasn't much to pack. Just some random things he had decided to bring along. Then, he and Thalia went down to the first floor. Thalia was writing down Natalia's number on a piece of paper and promised to contact her. Everyone else had arrived. Hermes handed Natalia's grandfather something and then picked up a call.

"Okay guys, we'll have to leave now!" Hermes announced. Natalia and her grandfather sent them to the road before waving goodbye to them as they left the vineyard.

"Let's play truth or dare," Leo said with an impish grin.

"Oh no," Nico groaned. Jason facepalmed and Percy cursed under his breath.

"Let's see... Percy hasn't got his turn yet. Truth or dare?" Leo asked, bouncing up and down on his seat.

"Fine, dare."

"Great! Let the great Leo think of a dare. Aha! You," Leo said, pointing a finger at Thalia, "kiss Thalia! And I want it to be a real intense make out session."

"Ew, no. I'm not going to kiss Thalia," Percy protested. "What's with all the kissing, Valdez?"

"It's fun! Since you're turning down Thalia, I'll give you a better candidate. Jason!"

Percy almost fell out of his seat. "Jason?"

Leo nodded his head. "Oh come on, it's easy. Lemme help you!"

Leo walked up to the and pushed their heads towards each other. Their lips crashed together. They began kissing and Leo was whistling and clapping away at one side. Piper looked really uncomfortable and Thalia was shooting daggers at Leo. Annabeth looked like she was ready to murder someone, while Hazel buried her face in Frank's chest.

"Cut!" Leo announced. "I'm happy with this kiss!"

Jason and Percy had a murderous look in their eyes. Percy had one hand in his pocket and Jason was playing with a golden coin.

"Don't take it so serious, man."

Then, to everyone's surprise, Percy and Jason laughed.

"Haha! Serves you right!"

Leo wiped his imaginary perspiration off his forehead. "Destination reached. Stop your games and get your bags!"

They got down from the mini van and got the luggage. Their private plane had arrived. They went through the airport checks and customs and got onto the plane. Once everyone had settled down, Hermes stood up from his seat and cleared his throat.

"Okay, next destination is set by yours truly.

The demigods began chatting excitedly.

"Silence. I know all of you want to know where the next destination is. A clue, one of the oldest civilisations in the world."

Percy raised an eyebrow. Annabeth looked stumped.

"The answer is, China."

**Yippee! Three cheers! Whatever! One more chapter down! Updating next Friday again! Pls leave a comment on what you think about this!**


	15. Author's note, please read!

**So sorry. I mean like really, really sorry. My examinations are coming and I need to study so I will be unable to update until 2nd October 2013. Until then, I will be pretty much offline.**

**-yanlikesgold**


	16. Chapter 15

**Yes, extra chapter. I've managed to get some time out of my busy timetable to update this. I seriously can't get by without writing any fanfiction. So yes, sometimes you'll get some extra chapters like this. But first things first, I have a few things to say. **

**1. I need beta(s) for 3 stories: Nico's first love, Foretelling the Future, and Fowl Drama (nothing to do with PJO, but seriously, I do need a beta for that). Those interested please PM me and send me one of your beta-d works. Thanks!**

**2. I've got a poll going on on my profile page and it's about the sequel to Nico's first love (yes, there will be a sequel). Please vote!**

**3. One last thing. Do you think I should cram the test into one chapter of two? Or more? **

**Yeah, about all.**** Enjoy this chapter!**

**Chapter 15: The Forbidden City**

**Thalia's POV**

"Um, China?" Percy asked.

"Yep, China," Hermes replied.

"Trust me. With Hermes around, you won't be getting into any trouble."

**A few hours later...**

They were walking out of the arrivals hall. Percy nudged Frank lightly.

"Dude, recognise any of these words here? They don't make sense to me."

"Um..." Frank looked down at his feet sheepishly and his face turned red. "I don't recognise any of them..."

"But..." Percy continued. Annabeth shot him a look and whispered in his ear, "be more sensitive about other people's feelings, could you?"

"Hurry, the van is waiting for us!" Hermes called out, taking wider and quicker strides with his long legs.

The mini-van, was as usual silver. They loaded their luggage onto the van and one by one went in. "Okay guys, we're leaving!" The van drove off from the Beijing airport and to their hotel.

"Hey guys! Let's play dare or dare!" Leo, as usual, suggested. Everyone groaned.

"So the Great Leo-" Piper began.

"Hey! I like that!" Leo interrupted. Piper rolled her eyes and continued, "what dares do you have for us now?" Leo smirked in a supremely annoying fashion. Rubbing his hands together, he spoke," Hey Frank, you've only be watching, haven't you? So now I need you to be involved in this."

Frank swallowed. "I want you to..." Leo looked around.

"I want you to confess your undying love for Piper!" Leo said theatrically.

"What? Seriously?" Piper said. Leo was bouncing up and down in his seat, even though he had his seatbelt on. Hazel was shaking her head disapprovingly.

"C'mon, Frank. Don't tell me you're too scared to confess your love for Piper? It's only a dare."

"Right, I'll do it," Frank mumbled. He walked up to Piper and said something only audible to himself.

"Hey Frank!" Leo exclaimed. "What did ya say? I didn't hear you! A confession in Leo terms means down on your knees!" By now, Hazel was fanning her 'aflame' face with her hands. Jason lay back in his seat, already tired from all the dares that Leo was giving. Leo seemed to be the only one that was so hyper, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Frank! Get on your knees and go like this: My darling Piper, I love you so much, I am willing to die for you. You are the light of my life, the..."

"Wait, this is getting really melodramatic," Thalia said. "I'm getting goosebumps. Really."

"That's the point!" Leo replied cheerfully. Frank grumbled and got down on his knees. "My darling Piper, I love you so much, I am willing to die for you. You are the light of my life, the..."

"Okay guys, we've reached the hotel. Wrap up that silly game of yours," Hermes informed them from the front, saving Frank from all, or at least most of the embarrassment that he was supposed to go through. They dragged their luggage and entered the grand lobby of the hotel.

"Oh my... This is stupendous..." Thalia thought. The plush velvet sofas on one side, with a glass coffee table in front of it was occupied by several businessmen in suits, tapping furiously on their smartphones. There was a crystal chandelier hanging from the high ceiling, each of the crystals were cut in a way such that when the light falls on the crystal, it could be refracted at an angle and create a mini rainbow. The reception area was not to bad either. Marble counters that were polished and cleaned, the staff all dressed in the same uniform. Hermes went up to one of the counters and spoke to one of the receptionists. She then handed him some room cards and Hermes walked back towards them.

"Okay, so here are your room keys. Thalia and Nico, 1915, Reyna and Leo, 1916, Hazel and Frank, 1917, Jason and Piper, 1918, Annabeth and Percy, 1919, and I'll be in room 1920. Any problems?" They shook their heads and then walked towards the lift lobby.

Soon enough, they reached the 19th floor. They entered their respective rooms to wash up or rest. Maybe both. Or none of them.

**Leo's POV**

"Holy Hephaestus! This is AWESOME!" Leo was literally screaming. The room was filled with gadgets of all kinds, and bits and parts of machines. The walls were painted in shades of orange, red and yellow, making it seem like the room was on fire. Perfect for Leo. The bed frame was made of bronze, same as the cabinets. The 54-inch LED television was mounted on the wall and using the special remote that had been prepared, it could also transform into a computer with four screens. It was voice controlled and the images on the screen could be turned into 3-D images without the glasses. Reyna didn't seem very happy though. She plopped herself on one of the orange couches.

"I don't like this, Leo," she complained openly. "Far too messy. And cluttered. I like neat places."

"Neat freak. And you had your turn on rooms designed for you!" Reyna frowned and got up, heading for the bathroom.

**Some time later...**

There was a knock on their door.

"What is it?" Reyna opened the door, only to find everyone else out of their rooms. "We're leaving?"

"Yeah," Percy said. "To some sort of Forbidden city or something like that."

Reyna nodded her head and left the room with Leo behind her.

* * *

**Thalia's POV**

The Forbidden city wasn't too far away from the hotel. But Hermes insisted that they were to take the van. Annabeth was the first to step down. And she found a rack with maps and took the English one, and began to navigate her way to the main hall. Hermes led the group, trailing behind Annabeth, and began explaining about the history.

"The Forbidden city is separated into two courts, one is the inner court, where the family and wives emperor stayed..."

"Hermes, so the emperors of China practiced polygamy?" Jason asked.

"Yes, they do practice polygamy. It was common in ancient China. Most men practiced polygamy in the past. But now it's different. Let us continue..."

They reached the main hall, where there was a gold chair with dragons carved on it right in the middle of the hall. The ceilings were high and was decorated with dragons. The pillars were carved and painted with dragons too. The hall was grand and majestic. Annabeth started commenting on how each item was so intricately carved or designed and the structures of the palace. Thalia stifled a yawn while listening to Annabeth's speech. She started to wander off, away from the main hall. Something seemed to be calling her, beckoning her to come. Charmspeak, Thalia thought. But yet, it seemed far more ancient and powerful, like Gaia, but yet harmless. She couldn't resist the temptation to follow that voice and find the person.

Stepping through another gate, she had unknowingly wandered to the Inner Court. The nondescript grey walls that were thick and high so no intruders could get in. The whole place was like a maze. Thalia walked aimlessly until she saw a room with its doors open. A scent was wafting out of the room. She pushed the ajar doors open and stepped in. The incense burner had been recently used.

"Explains the scent," Thalia murmured.

She looked through the wooden dressing table, to find lots of jewelry and accessories in the drawers. Then she turned and walked towards the bed. Running her fingers over the silk bedsheets, she made a discovery. A yellow envelope was placed under a pillow. She took it out. There was a cadecus printed on it, and she sat on the bed and opened the letter.

A scent overwhelmed her. Orchids, Thalia thought drowsily. Her eyelids were getting heavy... She had a need to sleep... She layon the bed and drifted off into another land, a land prepared specially for her...

**Ta-ta! I'm done! Review!**


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